When you hear Nike, you hear Jordan. It’s something that is wired into popular culture these days. But that couldn’t have been the case. Adidas. The German shoe company was the first choice for Air Jordan. That’s right. Michael Jordan could have been with Adidas. All those Jordan’s you’re rocking now. Imagine if they were all gone. All those adverts, billboards, gone.
Alright quit screaming it hasn’t actually happened. But it could’ve. But here’s the funny thing. If you didn’t like Adidas now. You’ll laugh at this. Adidas rejected Jordan. According to The Wall Street Journal it is because they thought he was too short.
In 1984, Adidas made a misstep that presaged others. A University of North Carolina basketball star named Michael Jordan wanted a sponsorship deal with Adidas when he went professional, say people familiar with the matter.
Adidas distributors wanted to sign Mr. Jordan, says someone who was an Adidas distributor then. But executives in Germany decided shoppers would favor taller players and wanted to sponsor centers, the person says, adding: “We kept saying, ‘no—no one can relate to those guys. Who can associate with a seven-foot-tall guy?’ ”
Adidas signed centers of the era, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar—it still sells sneakers named for him. Mr. Jordan in 1984 signed with Nike, which built his name into a blockbuster basketball business. Mr. Jordan and Adidas decline to comment.
Of course Adidas wouldn’t comment! You’d think they’d say “We screwed up big time.”? And “Mr. Jordan” is too respectable for that. Nike pretty much owns the world of sport. No point kicking Adidas while they’re down.
